I Needed An Explanation
by Beckkii101
Summary: Delena, Based off 4x13. Elena thinks about the cure and Damon's words, and then questions Damon on why he told her he didn't want to be human. After that, it becomes a cure finding fanfic, with Delena stuffed to the brim in there. Enjoy! :)
1. Chapter 1

_Cure_. Oh, how I hated that word. Cure was supposed to be a positive thing - like a cure for a disease. Which vampirism was. However, lately, I could feel nothing but the huge burden upon me when I thought about it. Everyone wanted me to be human, each for different reasons. Jeremy - so he didn't have to face the urge of wanting to kill his last living family member, Klaus - so he could create more hybrids. Although, Klaus did confess to wanting to retrieve the cure and destroy it, so his intentions were a little on the uneven side. And even Stefan - though I'm not sure why. He had said to me, plain as day, that he wasn't in love with me. I know that he wants me human for one specific reason...to break the sire bond. To see if my feelings for Damon are real. Which they ,as I've told anyone who asks, are. But no one really believes me – not even Damon himself. And it makes me so angry, because Tyler is a prime example of the sire bond having no effect on feelings. Sure, becoming a vampire may have heightened my attraction to him, but I know damn well that I loved him, even as a human. It was buried at the back of my mind - until the night when I was forced to choose. When Matt's truck went off of Wickery bridge. When all of this started.

The Cure brings nothing but misery now.

"_Take the cure with me. That's how much I know this is real. That's how certain I am that I'm going to love you, even after this is all over. Take the cure. Be human with me. We can be together, grow old together...this doesn't have to be hard anymore._" Her own words echoed in her head, building a bridge of hope. But Damon's snapped back at her, crumbling it.

"_That's not me, Elena, that's Stefan. You know, I used to miss being human. Now, I can't think of anything more miserable on earth_." and the vivid crunch of the twigs beneath his feet as he walked away triggered the tears, because she could almost imagine the twigs breaking in unison with her heart.

A few hours later I saw Damon walking past, almost sneakily, to his tent. And I knew immediately that he was trying to get past without me noticing. Well, I wouldn't stand for that. He was going to have to own up to what he said to me.

"Damon!" I yelled, getting up and fast-walking to the enticing vampire, who was opening his tent door. His sculpted head turned and his hands moved more frantically down the zipper as he saw me coming closer.  
"Don't you dare run from me." I ordered, moving almost inches from him.

"Shouldn't I be the one telling you what to do, you being sired to me and all?" he said, disinterested. He was ready to dismiss me away like a maid. Perhaps that was what he thought I was to him now. He wanted me to have my own free will.

His crystal eyes were directed down, which really showed me how short I was. But at least his eyes were looking straight into mine, so I could make sure he wasn't lying.

"What you said back there, Damon, I want to know why."

He gulped, expecting a huge explosion from her.

"Look, Elena," he breathed, bowing his head, "I'm tired, we can talk about this tomorrow-" he made a rushed grab for the tent flap.

"No!" I went for his hand to stop it moving. "Damon, do you love me?"

He paused. "I love you."

"And you could never lie to me, right?" I said, feeling my eyes narrowing.  
His eyes darted left, and I knew straight away what he would say.  
"Well."  
"You want to be human more than anything, and you know it. So why'd you lie to me?"

And right then, I swear, Damon's face could never look more pained, except perhaps when I first awoke from being drained by Klaus in the sacrifice.

"I love you, and you love me. Why can't we be human together? Better than that, Why can't we be together at all?"

I could sense his sadness from the intricate lines in his forehead creasing.

"Im frightened."

Her lips parted in surprise. Never would she expect Damon Salvatore to admit he was scared.

But perhaps for her.

"Frightened of what, Damon?" I pressed, my other, un-preoccupied hand landing on the side of his face.

His bright eyes wouldn't release the grip on mine throughout the minute or so he stood, silent.

I stood with him, my hands shaking slightly.

Suddenly, he croaked,

"That, when you turn human, you'll go back to Stefan."

And he ripped himself away from my embrace and swiftly got inside of his tent and zipped the door.

I didn't know how long I spent there, staring out into the forest, on the verge of bursting into tears.

All this time, he was scared of becoming mortal, only because he was afraid of me turning to Stefan and leaving him to grow old and die?

Oh, Damon. Once this retched sire bond is broken, I'll show you how it really is.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! This is my first fanfic, so i was sweating buckets while publishing this. I would appreciate any reviews or favourites, just so i can improve my writing. Have a pleasant day! Oh, and Delena all the way! :) *EDIT* Thank you for reviewing, I totally squealed! Ive decided to carry this on! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't realise that I had fallen asleep among the fallen leaves of the oak trees surrounding the outskirts of our camp, until I heard Damon roll over near to me. I jolted up and peaked into his tent. He look distressed, as if he'd had trouble falling asleep. I thought it best to leave him there, so at least he could get a few more peaceful minutes without any despair. The months after my parents died, before Stefan, I woke up daily to an aching pain that came back every time I got a few hours of interrupted sleep, and all of my memories flooded back. I really didn't want to see Damon's face when that happened.

"Elena!" I heard a panicked voice yell from a short distance. I turned and spotted Jeremy jogging up to me, his eyes confused.  
"What happened to you? I was up not 10 minutes ago and you weren't in your tent when I walked by, so I got really worried." Jeremy's words were a hurried question, but I had a feeling he already knew the answer.  
I decided to be honest with him. "I was with Damon."  
His brown right eyebrow shot up. "Oh."  
"But hey," I continued, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, "Im sorry I worried you."  
I held my weak arms out for my brother to fit into, and he did, like a missing puzzle piece.  
But as I snuggled my chin into his neck, a wave of desire hit me. It was Jeremy's blood.  
I breathed heavily to calm myself, and instantly regretted it. The scent forced its way through my mouth, calling out for my fangs to drop. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't fed since we first left, and that I'm sure Jeremy wouldn't mind. I wouldn't hurt him.  
"Elena?" came a small voice from my food source. I just needed a little blood, just to keep me going. I felt my veins scrape together, begging for fresh blood.  
_God, I am so hungry..._  
"Elena!" I felt someone grab my shoulders, wrenching me away from my breakfast.  
I moaned, opening my heavy eyelids to look at whoever had torn me away from my brother. Wait, my brother? _My brother! I had been about to feed on him!_  
"JEREMY!" I shrieked, causing the already startled boy to jump three feet.  
"I'm so sorry! I didn't even know what was happening, Jer..." I felt my fangs retract as tears formed and stung my eyes.  
"Its okay." Jeremy whispered, though he looked far from okay. He stood further than me than before, and his warm eyes couldn't look directly into mine.  
"Its alright, Elena, I'll get us some food soon." came a familiar voice to my left.  
And suddenly I felt as if I was performing in a crowded theatre, and my costume had just fallen off, leaving me completely exposed.

"Damon," I squeaked, now fully embarrassed. "What-What are you doing here?"  
"Well, I couldn't have you munching on Little Gilbert now, could I?" He stated, his voice completely normal, as if he didn't care that Jeremy would have been bitten. But I knew better.  
His hair was tousled and it was strangely attractive; it reminded me of the morning after our first time. He threw me a weak, comforting smile, while grabbing my shaking arm and leading me away.

Damon immediately insisted that we hunted a.s.a.p , proving my point that he cared for Jeremy. I had apologized over and over to my brother, who became increasingly annoyed at me for it, but he knew how I was when I did something like this. I had completely forgotten who he was; the bloodlust had taken over. And It would have been hard enough, but to make it worse, my apparent compassion has been intensified. I cry at nearly anything now. Damon is the top offender on _that_ list.  
We started walking, searching for any animals in the forest. I constantly felt Damon staring at me as he flanked my behind, "Just in case anyone tries to come at us." But I had a suspicion that it was partly for another reason. So he didn't guilt-trip himself when he looked at my face.  
Awhile later, we found a lone deer on the edge of a small lake, its large tongue sipping at the clear water. I thought about telling Damon to let it go; I didn't want to see its body heaped among the grass. But I redirected my thoughts to the humans at the camp: Jeremy, Bonnie, and Shane, who didn't need four hungry vampires intimidating them.  
Damon didn't even bother telling me to stay in my spot behind a particularly tall tree, before vampire speeding up to the creature and snapping its neck. I leant my head on the withered tree, watching him, and wondering how Stefan could have ever done this.  
"This will have to do; there are no hikers or anything we could grab a quick sip with." He muttered, unashamed by his blood-need. She assumed he was pouting, by the tone of his voice.  
I didn't reply to him, so he turned around to finally look at me.  
"Hey, Elena," Damon insisted, thrusting the hand that still had grip of the deers neck out towards me. "You first."

I gulped. I really didn't want to feed infront of him. I kind of liked being his gentle human who calmed him; it made me feel like I had a use in the vampire-infected town that I lived in. However, it was certain that he would love me, either a vampire or a human. But lately, the sire bond was ruining the chances that I had to start something with him. I gazed up at Damon, and his eyes couldn't look more resentful of himself.  
"No, don't be sad. Not because of me." he pleaded, setting down the Stag.  
"I cant help it. You wont believe anything I say about us, not along as you think the sire bond is controlling my every word and action." I tried to control my tone, but indignation easily slipped through.  
He sighed, but it wasn't a rude sigh. It was one of tiredness. Most likely, at himself.  
"I just want you to know what you're doing. Once we break the sire bond and you become human, chances are you'll forget whatever you're feeling for me right now."  
"Thats utter crap, Damon."  
"You never went this far as a human. You said you cared for me, but thats about it. And now, suddenly, with the sire bond in effect, you said you loved me. I'd say its pretty obvious."  
I felt a rage inside me start to rise up. I could fight him all day on this – and it would do no good.  
"Pass me the damn deer." I snapped at him.

After he and I had fed, we decided it might be best to go back to camp. Well, _he _decided. I didn't feel like talking to him for a few hours.  
"Elena, stop being mad at me, I cant bare it." Damon interrupted my brooding with his out of place comment halfway through the walk back. This time, It was my turn to sigh.  
"Just...hold my hand." I breathed, successfully pushing my anger away.  
He was silent for a moment.  
"If its the least I can do." he whispered slowly, and he picked up his pace to join me by my side. I felt a spark of electricity when our fingertips touched, and my head reeled in joy. I suddenly felt overwhelmingly comfortable and safe with Damon's hand around mine.

As I looked up at him, I smiled, showing him my happiness. And Damon's returned, slightly surprised and full-blown look of delight made me realise something.

I could not love this man more.


	3. Chapter 3

As we both approached the camp we could feel the tension that filled the air.  
I look around quickly, silently hoping that they hadn't been attacked.  
"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE THEY THEN?!" screeched a frequently heard voice from the direction of Damon's tent. I looked at Damon and he glanced at me, a question in his eyes.  
"Rebekah, I'm sure they just went to hunt," a small voice pleaded from the same area.  
We came close enough to see who was causing all the noise. Stefan was standing in front of a seriously pissed off looking Rebekah, with a snapped half of Damon's tent support pole in hand.  
"I DONT TRUST THEM! THEY'VE GONE OFF WITH THE HUNTER AND THAT STUPID WITCH TO FIND THE CURE WITHOUT US! DONT YOU SEE, STEFAN?" she shrieked, throwing the pole a good couple of meters.  
I guess Damon didn't want to hear any more accusations, because he promptly exclaimed "Hey, Blondie, we're here!"  
I instantly wished he hadn't done that so rudely. Any other time, and I would have laughed. But, now, he had managed to turn Rebekah's death glare to point right at me.  
"YOU-" she sped for my throat. And was knocked backwards by Damon, sending her body to the floor.  
"Don't touch her. You want to hurt anyone for this, you hurt me."  
"Hm, and what did you have to do with this?" Rebekah spoke calmly, but she was definitely not going to leave me alone later.  
"I took Elena to hunt. And, how could we have found the cure without Shane, anyway?" Damon declared, crossing his arms.  
"Well," Stefan interjected, as if it was completely normal for Rebekah to freak out like this, "Jeremy and Bonnie are gone. Its completely possible for you to find the cure with their help."  
I felt a prick of annoyance hit me.  
"And you don't even trust us anymore, Stefan?" I said accusingly.  
He didn't even stop to think about that. "Nope. Not when you're together with Damon, anyway."  
I felt my mouth drop just a tad. After _he_ broke up with _me_ over my feelings for Damon, he doesn't even think they're real? Not after he saw me falling in love with his brother when I was human?  
"He wouldn't tell me to do anything. Don't insult him like that." I snapped, seeing Damon tense beside me.  
"Look, Elena, I really don't trust your judgement. Damon has control over you, and right now he seems to be using it to his advantage."  
A low snarl erupted from Damon. I gripped his hand, afraid that he'd start another fight. And there'd be no one to interrupt them this time.  
"Jeremy and Bonnie are gone?" I said loudly, trying to direct the conversation another way.  
"Apparently, yes. Either they've gone off to smooch or they've both been kidnapped." Rebekah answered, getting up off of the ground.  
And as if waiting for a cue, both Jeremy and Bonnie got up and walked out from a nearby patch of bushes, looking extremely guilty. Bonnie was adjusting her dishevelled hair, and Jeremy was pulling down his ridden up tank top.  
"Uh..." Bonnie spluttered, while scratching the underneath of her left arm.  
"What have you two soldiers been doing, then?" Damon smirked, enjoying their embarrassment.

But just before he got the pleasure of hearing their flustered excuse, the sound of crunching leaves became increasingly louder as something approached our camp.  
Damon went for my hand just as it stopped. We all turned and spotted Professor Shane, who's usual bored eyes were frantic.  
"Hybrid!"  
And not even before the word was out, did an enormous black wolf leap right over Shane, and land in line with me, its sharp canine teeth bared.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing! :D and also, I am sorry for the little amount of Delena in this chapter, but I needed to move the plot forward :) Ive planned the ending now, so hopefully i know what i'm doing! x**


	4. Chapter 4

I did nothing to stop its furious rush at me.  
"NO!" thundered Damon's voice, as he sped himself right into the body of the wolf, knocking it sideways. He held on to the canine's shadowy fur as it writhed to get away from him.  
"Elena! Go!" he tried to yell, but his voice was broken from his heavy breaths.  
"Get me a stake!" Damon belted, while trying to force the wolf onto the floor with his weight.  
Stefan took that as a call for him. He instantly vampire sped to his supplies and then to Damon.  
Damon held the thrusting wolf down so Stefan could get a good shot at its heart.  
A strangled whimper came out of the oversized mammal as the stake went into it.  
I took this as a sign that it was dead and ran over to Damon, and desperately clasped his face with my hands.  
"Don't do that, Damon. Don't put yourself in danger for me."  
He looked at me, his eyes determined.  
"How couldn't I? He was going straight for you." He grabbed my hands.  
There wasn't a better moment to say it.  
"I love you."  
And even if he didn't believe it was fully true, his face still lit up with a smile I'd rarely ever seen.  
Stefan tensed beside us, and got up, while twisting a second stake around in his irritated fingers. A deep rumbling came from the dead animal next to us, and before I even knew it I felt an excruciating pain hit my wrist.  
The barely alive wolf snarled as a startled Stefan luckily launched his second stake slightly to the left of his first one, and managed to burst its heart this time.  
Damon had already noticed what had happened, and grabbed my hand, and was staring at it with intensity.  
I slowly looked down, and there it was.  
A werewolf bite.

**A/N: Mwahhaha! That was so mean. And it was kinda short - I apologize for that. Ive never written a fight scene before, so i didn't want to make it a big thing. Thank you for all the support! :) x**


	5. Chapter 5

"The hell, this cant happen!" Damon barked, launching a small log into a nearby tree.  
We all jumped in surprise.  
"I'm sure we'll find a way to fix this, Damon..." Stefan interrupted, causing everyone to settle a tad.  
"How?! Klaus isn't even an option anymore; considering Elena and Jeremy just murdered his brother!" he blasted an angry reply.  
"Perhaps the cure would save her. Being a human might render the bite harmless." Rebekah interjected, offering up some useful information.  
And for the first time in the last 15 minutes did Damon's shoulder's relax and his face soften.  
"Maybe. But if it comes down to it, I'm going to Klaus." His voice was trembling just a little.  
"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked, feeling guilty for making Damon worry. "Im not dead just yet."  
Damon spun around on his heel. "Im not letting you die. You'll live some way."  
I felt a little panicked. I didn't want Damon going to Klaus for help. Not after what happened to Stefan.  
"Damon." I stared at him.  
"No. You'll live whether you want to or not."  
_Oh._ He'd thought I wanted to let myself die. Oh my god. He doesn't even realise that I'm worried for _him_.  
"Well, if were going to have any chance of saving her we'd better get going." Shane insisted, bringing the conversation to an end.  
Everyone scattered, picking up their salvageable possessions that hadn't been previously recked by Rebekah. Jeremy came over to me with Bonnie trailing behind him.  
"Elena..." He stammered, bending down on his knees to my height.  
"Its alright, Jer," I interrupted him. "I'll be okay." He went in for a tight hug.  
I looked up at Bonnie, and she gave me an understanding, sympathetic nod.  
I watched Damon throw out the rest of his useless tent, then stride over to me.  
"We'll be leaving in a minute. Get ready." he said, while looking at Jeremy and Bonnie. They both took that as a cue to leave.  
Once they were gone he bent down to face me, and whispered so no one could hear, "Do you want me to carry you?"  
I exhaled quickly. He would really offer to carry me?  
"No, I'm fine."  
A flicker of a proud smile flashed around his face.  
"Alright. Wait here until I've got all of our stuff packed." and with that, he got up and walked towards my unused tent.  
I waited, quietly, looking at the wolf that had handed me my inevitable death.

I thought that the walk would be easy. Damon's bite had taken a few hours to take full effect, so I thought that I'd be fine for a while. But I didn't realise how far we'd have to actually go. Shane was at the front of the team, leading with Bonnie and a shirtless Jeremy. And I was at the back, with Damon next to me. He said that I could take it slow if I wanted to, and he'd stay with me.  
It was a couple hours into the walk when my head started to turn. Without noticing, I tripped over a loose branch on the ground and fell face first. Luckily, I was conscious enough to hold my arms out, so I didn't hurt myself. A memory flashed through my head.

_"You have every right to hate me. I understand. But you hated me before, and we became friends." he joked, while the centre of his eyes shone at the hope inside of them.  
"It would suck if that was gone forever. So, is it? Have I lost you forever?"  
_  
"No, Damon, you haven't lost me forever." I murmured.  
"What?" Damon was crouching beside me. He squinted his eyes for a second, but then released them as realisation dawned on him.  
"Come on, Elena" he said, while helping me up. "Come back to me."  
That was my first hallucination for a while but not the last one.  
The next was while I was walking around a tree. A spell of dizziness hit me and I leant on it.

"_Do you think I like going behind your back? I don't. But if I hadn't have asked Stefan to help you would have tried to be the hero and you would have ruined everything."  
"Sorry for trying to keep you alive. Clearly Stefan doesn't give a crap anymore."  
"So your mad at me for including Stefan?"  
"No, I'm mad at you because I love you."  
"Well maybe thats the problem."_

I opened my eyes and exclaimed "It wasn't the problem! It wasn't a problem..."  
Damon rushed over to me and put his hands around my waist. "I know." he whispered into my hair.  
I couldn't see past my burning fever, but I could just make out a distant, dark entrance to what I assume was a cave.  
Before I could orient myself to look any further, A belting cough came out of me. I heard myself gasp as another face flashed by me.

_"The day that the lawyers called to tell me that I was going to become your guardian, you know what my first thought was?" she breathed. The bright fire encircling her made my head reel.  
"Isn't there someone else who can do this?"  
"Jenna, there was no one else who could have gotten me and Jeremy through all that."  
"Its just the thought that I almost passed up taking care of you..."  
"But you didn't. You put your entire life on hold to help us."  
"Look around, Elena. I failed you."_

"No! No, Jenna, you didn't fail us. You didn't fail us..." I sobbed, wrapping my arms together.  
I felt footsteps behind me and I was whipped upwards and into someone's arms.  
I felt myself slowly slipping into unconsciousness.  
But just before I was engulfed in the darkness, I heard a quaking voice say "Guys, she's getting worse."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Whew! I had to make sure that this chapter was done right. Thank you for waiting and Enjoy! p.s Bless you for reviewing :D  
Oh, and i forgot to mention, but theres no Silus. I know that it takes half the plot out but just pretend it was some fable because i cant weave him into the story well enough without it getting confusing. Thank you! :)**

When my heavy eyelids opened I was greeted by the sight of a ceiling of wet rock.  
I tried to move but the person who had their arms around me stopped me.  
I turned my head to see who it was.  
"Hey. How are you feeling?" Damon said softly.  
"I.." I tried to tell him, but I ended up coughing.  
He gave me a weak smile so that I wouldn't worry, but his eyes gave him away. He _really _looked scared.  
"Apparently were close to wherever the cure is," Damon stated, while stopping to strengthen his grip on me. "Thats what Professor Shady pants says, anyway." He started walking again.  
I chuckled and coughed again.  
"You know..." I croaked, my voice sounding very weak, "You didn't have to carry me."  
"The hell I did. You looked like your legs were going to completely give up."  
Just out of curiosity, I lifted my eyes off of his and looked around. This cave was really like any other. Random tangles of moss hang down from the dark ceiling and the constant dripping noise from the water above was starting to irritate me. I felt a sheen of sweat break out across my face as a rush of burning heat spread around my body. And for the first time, I realised that I would die. I also realised that I wasn't scared. I'd meet my parents, Jenna, Alaric and even John again. Jeremy would follow when it was time, but for now...I was ready.  
"Damon...I want you to know something." My voice was barely a murmur now.  
"Oh?" He looked down, surprised.  
"I think you deserve a lot more than you get."  
He stared at me and opened his full lips a little.  
"And if it comes down to it, I want you to find true happiness with someone else."  
His face hardened. "No. Don't you dare start saying goodbye."  
"Theres no certainty that the cure will save me."  
"Thats fine; I'll go to Klaus."  
"You know he wouldn't care. Not after we killed his brother. He would think it as _justice_."  
He seemed to crack after _justice _came slowly out of my mouth.  
"But I love you."  
"I know. And I love you, too. But even love can't stop death, Damon."  
Tears welled up in his bright eyes and he started to race to the front of the team.  
He pushed past Rebekah and Stefan, who both stared at me. Stefan gave me a loving nod as tears fell from both of his eyes. And as Damon approached the front, I think I even saw a tear going down Rebekah's face, too.

I had to close my eyes; it even hurt to have them open now. But I could just about hear Damon speaking to Shane over the sound of my vampire blood rushing through my veins.  
"How close are we?" Damon sounded very angry now.  
"Close. A few more minutes at most." Shane replied, taking no notice of the emotion in his voice.  
"Well, why are we walking? We don't...have long."  
"I don't want to take a wrong path."  
Damon's breath was shaky as he exhaled.  
"How is she?" Jeremy.  
"I don't know...but she looks..."  
"Yeah. She does." Bonnie.  
"Elena...if you can hear me, I want to tell you something." Jeremy again.  
"You were the best sister that anyone could have, and don't you let anyone up there tell you different. I love you." by the tone of his voice, I assumed he was crying.  
"Thank you for being my best friend." Bonnie now.  
"I couldn't have found a better one. I love you too, Elena."  
And I hoped that I could reply to them both, tell them I loved them, too. But my body wasn't allowing me to do so. It was collapsing in on itself.

Jeremy's Point Of View

I tried to not look at my dying sister. I wouldn't torture myself when the cure that would save her was right around the corner.  
I felt Bonnie's hand around mine tighten. I looked her at to distract myself and she smiled at me.  
Even when she was upset her smiles still felt right. I wanted to make her smile.

"Its here." Shane looked in wonder at the cobweb-covered altar in front of him.  
"Great. Now help me get it." Damon sat Elena down, her back being supported by the edge of the altar. A bit of her hair was touching a purple gem that was inside of the decorated stone.  
Damon brushed all of the dust and other crap that had collected there.  
"Its a coffin." He said, surprise and determination entering his voice.  
I looked around, If not to check that no one was following us. Stefan and Rebekah were both at the back, as if only watching a play in front of them. But I soon realised that they were waiting. They were waiting for Damon to pull the cure out and then they would steal it. And when they did, I would stop them.  
"Why is this thing not opening?!" Damon fumed while trying to heave the lid off of it.  
"Here, let me help." I volunteered, feeling Bonnie's hand leave mine as I stepped forward.  
We both pushed the stupid thing for at least a minute or so, and all the while I was staring at Elena, who had gone completely white under a layer of sweat.  
Once we finally got it open, Shane rushed forward, the noise of his backpack swinging filling the tension in the air.  
"Whats it supposed to look like?" I said, gazing at the pile of bones inside.  
"A box." Shane quickly replied, as he scattered the mess with his hands.  
Damon was side glancing at Elena, his terror obvious to see.  
"It was here. See the imprint in the stone? Thats its spot. Its gone." He added, disbelief and anger running across his face.  
"Oh, Im sorry, are you looking for this?" said a pleased voice with perfect clarity. We all instantly turned. Klaus was standing proud in the entranceway with two hybrids backing him, and the box of cure in hand.


	7. Chapter 7

__"Yeah, I'm sorry for being such a spoil sport but I think its best if you let me leave with this." He gestured to the cure in his hand.  
"Klaus. Why are you here?" said a small voiced Stefan.  
"Well, Stefan, isn't it obvious? That and I wanted Elena and Jeremy dead, but..."  
"You were the one who sent the hybrid, weren't you?" Damon spoke demandingly. I had a feeling that he'd already figured that out.  
A smile spread across Klaus' face. "I thought it better to kill all of you then, to save me the trouble fighting you off now. Seems like that didn't work out, though," he said, displeased.  
"But it did help me a little bit. Seems that the certain hybrid I sent had a grudge against poor Elena. A friend of one of Kol's descendants, perhaps?"  
Hostility gleamed in Damon's eyes.

"You wanted to kill me?" came a hurt voice from the front.  
Rebekah stepped out so she was face to face with Klaus."You would kill your own sister to destroy the thing she wanted?"  
"Rebekah," Klaus's voice sounded a tad remorseful. "Im sorry."  
"To hell with your apologies! I want to be human, Nik!"  
"I cannot let them take this when they all plotted to and killed one of our siblings, Rebekah."  
"I would not give it to them. I swear." She was begging him.

"Oh, I doubt that. You've spent time with them. And even if that means nothing to some, its everything to you. _You always have loved too easily."  
"_Please, Niklaus. Please give it to me. Let me be what I've longed to be for a thousand years. Let me be human._" _She spoke gently.  
He stared at her and slowly gulped.  
"I..."  
She stared at him but didn't look the least bit frightened. She looked defiant.  
"I do not want to be alone."  
Her reply was quick.  
"Screw you." The tears in her eyes were tainted with rage.  
Klaus' lips tightened and he drew out one of the three vials in the box.

He moved it up to eye height and looked at the blue liquid.  
"If you try to stop me, Rebekah, I will make sure that you can never call me brother again."  
And he threw the glass at the stone wall in rage.

We all gasped as we saw it fly through the air for a split second. But Rebekah didn't even hesitate. She zoomed just in front of the wall it was going for and caught it. She tipped and drank the thing faster than i'd ever seen.  
The cave was deathly silent. Her fingers weakened and the empty glass vial shattered as it hit the floor. She slowly make an 'O' shape with her lips and suddenly, as if she'd been pricked, she shuddered. Then we all heard it. Even Bonnie, Shane and me. The sound of a fluttering heartbeat. Rebekah opened her eyes in wonder and took a long breath, as if seeing the world completely differently now. Her heartbeat slowed so that I could no longer hear it, but I knew that the other vampires could. She flexed her fingers and ruffled her hair as human blood spread through her body, making her complexion rosy.

She finally looked straight at all of our baffled faces, except from Klaus.  
Her brighter eyes lit up as she laughed. "I feel alive." She smiled. "Really alive."  
"Good, because you wont be for long." Klaus sneered savagely.  
He went for Rebekah with a dagger. It was one of the few that he stored on the off chance he'd want to paralyse one of his siblings.  
And as he moved, Damon did too. A flash of black and he stood in front of Rebekah with dignity.  
"Before you kill her, let me cure Elena."  
Klaus moved his betrayed eyes from her to Damon. He smiled a cruel smile and said

"Ah, yes. Of course, Damon. I should give you my blood out of my unbreakable compassion, hm?"  
Damon's face was clearly showing his pure emotions.  
"Please."  
Klaus blinked. "No."  
Damon's face didn't change. I suddenly realised that he'd get Elena Klaus' blood, whether it be against Klaus' will or not.  
"But," he added, putting a finger up, as if telling a child off, "I will give you a vial."

He reached in to the crushed box that luckily still held two unbroken flasks.  
"Now, Damon, don't make me wait. Hold your hands out." He spoke patronisingly, as if to a five year old.  
Damon's eyes narrowed as he obediently held out his pale hand.

We all knew that Damon would snap any second; he didn't like to be treated like this.

But part of me knew that he'd beg for it, if it was for Elena.

"Hmm," Klaus smirked, examining his outstretched hand. "Good boy."  
Damon's lips curled in a predatory snarl.  
Klaus seemed to smile even harder at his anger.  
"Here you are. This is for all your hard work." and he let the vial drop in his shaking hands.

But not before giving Damon another look of triumph.  
"And if this does not work?" Damon could hardly hold back the rage in his voice.  
"Then there will be no more Elena Gilbert. And the world would be better off."  
Something snapped in Damon then. "I will rip you apart." he hissed.  
"Try. Then we will see what happened to the group from Mystic Falls who never came back from their camping trip."

"Elena?" A worrisome Damon whispered. He was stroking her hair and feeding her the cure at the same time. I don't know how long me, Bonnie, Shane and Stefan had been watching the entire thing play out, but the feud between Klaus and Damon calmed when Stefan had grabbed him and said _"Theres no point. You have the cure. Now use it." _Since then we had been waiting for Elena to come to. Or wondering whether she would.  
But now we heard a sound. A soft moaning that could be formed into a word. One word.  
"Damon..."  
A soft smile spread across his ashen face.  
Her breath hitched and she propelled upwards. "Why am I breathing? What-what-?"  
"You're human." he answered gently, still stroking her hair.  
"I.." Elena didn't have anything else to say, except "Thank you."  
"Don't thank me. I didn't even have much to do with it." he turned around to look at a certain vengeful vampire.  
Elena gasped. "Klaus!"  
"Oh, why so modest Damon? You know, Elena, he practically begged me to cure you." sneered Klaus.  
"What the hell are you doing here? What actually happened? Guys?" she looked up at me and the rest of us.  
"We opened the coffin," I tapped the block of stone that I was sitting on, "and the cure wasn't there. Klaus had stolen it." I tried not to sound to angry. It wouldn't help the situation if we all started throwing around blame. "Rebekah took it," I carried on, and Elena glanced at the restless blonde human, who was sitting far away from her brother but looking all to eager to start her new life.  
"and Damon asked for some for you." She then returned her gaze to Damon, and didn't release them for at least a minute.

"Okay, I think i've had enough of this." Klaus suddenly spoke.  
We all looked over at him, nervous.  
"Im tired of pretending that I care. Rebekah, you better start running. It does not bode well to have betrayed your brother on this particular day." He said through gritted teeth.  
I don't think i've ever seen her look more frightened. She studied him with her blue, humanity filled eyes as if contemplating whether she could make it out or if he was just playing a game of tag – where the vampire always wins. And Klaus glowered at her without any sign of forgiveness. She started to run towards the entrance way and out of the cave, and hopefully she knew where she was going. Klaus called out after her "Good luck to you in my game, little sister. With those human senses of yours, you're going to need it."  
"Now." he smirked. "Its time to deal with the troublemakers. Since Elena and Jeremy actually killed my brother, they're number one." He counted off on his finger.  
"Stefan lied to me about it. Two."  
"Bonnie did that god awful high pitched ringing spell in the sacrifice and disrupted me. Three."  
"Damon, well, I have no personal complaints, but you should really stop trying to keep Elena from me-"  
"I'll try to fix it for next time." Damon slyly replied, his tone rude and sarcastic.  
"And also those annoying little snarky comments. Four."  
"And Shane. Hmm..you're just plain bothersome, really, aren't you?" He put his hand down.  
Klaus smiled. "Now, the punishment." he put his hand behind him and beckoned his awaiting hybrids.  
"Kill them all."


End file.
